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Getting found and arrested is one of the better outcomes. There are cases where military aircraft pointed their lasers (likely invisible IR lasers) at photogra

Getting found and arrested is one of the better outcomes. There are cases where military aircraft pointed their lasers (likely invisible IR lasers) at photographers. It's unclear if this was intentional and what kind of laser (e.g. rangefinder or designator) it was, but the laser likely wasn't meant as a weapons system but still fried the camera, with visible scorch marks. I can't imagine eyes faring much better than the sensor if hit.

dangerbird2 5y ago
They'd fare poorly, but for different reasons. Digital cameras can be vulnerable to IR lasers because their sensors are sensitive to infrared light. Human retinas aren't sensitive to IR, which ironically makes IR lasers more dangerous than visible ones, since they don't trigger the blink reflex which would otherwise limit the damage to the eyes.
- cjbgkagh 5y ago
  Wouldn’t the IR laser be flashed anyway? How much time would they need to be on?
- zokier 5y ago
  If the sensor surface ends up with visible scorch marks then I don't think it would matter much if it was sensitive or not
  - xnyan 5y ago
    Whether or not the laser is in the visible spectrum matters quite a bit for it’s classifications/safety. According to IEC 60825–1 a laser from roughly over 1/2 a mW up to 5mW goes from class 2 to class 4 if it’s outside visible. A nearly 5mW laser could scorch many materials, given enough time.
vilhelm_s 5y ago
Cameras are very sensitive to lasers, there are lots of reported instances where a camera was damaged by e.g. a light show at a concert, even though it's presumably harmless to the human concert-goers[1]. So I don't think the fact that the camera was damaged would necessarily mean that it was dangerous to eyes. [1] https://petapixel.com/2021/08/02/sony-officially-warns-that-lasers-can-damage-its-cameras-sensors/ https://petapixel.com/2021/08/02/sony-officially-warns-that-...
- orbital-decay 5y ago
  Not just cameras, apparently. Recently I was watching a movie at some small cinema, and there was a dim vertical green stripe on the left side of the screen. I got curious and asked the projector guy after the movie. His answer was "some dumbass flashed a laser pointer right into the lens, burning an entire pixel column".
- LeifCarrotson 5y ago
  As a controls engineer who deals with CDRH regulations for laser sensors, laser engravers, and and laser cutters on a regular basis, the crap that some light shows get away with is criminal. The lasers used in light shows are only allowed because they're moving; if you looked directly down the beam while it held still your blink reflex would not save your vision. Fortunately, you've got natural liquid cooling: your cornea is bathed in tears and your retina is surrounded by fluid-filled tissues, so there's a safety window of a few milliseconds while the laser pans across your eyeball too fast to cause dangerous temperature rise. If the laser beam slows down - if the encoders/resolvers on the galvanometers register insufficient change in the mirror angles - the controller will shut off the laser. I don't have sufficient trust in my own professional, methodical, high-quality work using top dollar equipment to open up a machine without safety eyewear and lock out/tag out procedures; I have even less trust in products for the lower-margin, faster-paced entertainment industry. On top of that, it would not surprise me if a camera sensor has slightly less heatsinking compared to human eyeballs...but the fact that the safety margin is so thin that cameras can be damaged makes me not want to go to a light show!
  - 5y ago
polack 5y ago
Many countries have signed the UN protocol that says they will not use laser weapons on people. The whole thing is a bit of a scam though and the crew on tanks and similar vehicles are taught to use lasers offensively on people even though the lasers are being classified for "range finding" or similar. So in practice offensive lasers are part of modern warfare.

dangerbird2 5y ago

They'd fare poorly, but for different reasons. Digital cameras can be vulnerable to IR lasers because their sensors are sensitive to infrared light. Human retinas aren't sensitive to IR, which ironically makes IR lasers more dangerous than visible ones, since they don't trigger the blink reflex which would otherwise limit the damage to the eyes.

cjbgkagh 5y ago
Wouldn’t the IR laser be flashed anyway? How much time would they need to be on?
zokier 5y ago
If the sensor surface ends up with visible scorch marks then I don't think it would matter much if it was sensitive or not
- xnyan 5y ago
  Whether or not the laser is in the visible spectrum matters quite a bit for it’s classifications/safety. According to IEC 60825–1 a laser from roughly over 1/2 a mW up to 5mW goes from class 2 to class 4 if it’s outside visible. A nearly 5mW laser could scorch many materials, given enough time.

vilhelm_s 5y ago

Cameras are very sensitive to lasers, there are lots of reported instances where a camera was damaged by e.g. a light show at a concert, even though it's presumably harmless to the human concert-goers[1]. So I don't think the fact that the camera was damaged would necessarily mean that it was dangerous to eyes. [1] https://petapixel.com/2021/08/02/sony-officially-warns-that-lasers-can-damage-its-cameras-sensors/ https://petapixel.com/2021/08/02/sony-officially-warns-that-...

orbital-decay 5y ago
Not just cameras, apparently. Recently I was watching a movie at some small cinema, and there was a dim vertical green stripe on the left side of the screen. I got curious and asked the projector guy after the movie. His answer was "some dumbass flashed a laser pointer right into the lens, burning an entire pixel column".
LeifCarrotson 5y ago
As a controls engineer who deals with CDRH regulations for laser sensors, laser engravers, and and laser cutters on a regular basis, the crap that some light shows get away with is criminal. The lasers used in light shows are only allowed because they're moving; if you looked directly down the beam while it held still your blink reflex would not save your vision. Fortunately, you've got natural liquid cooling: your cornea is bathed in tears and your retina is surrounded by fluid-filled tissues, so there's a safety window of a few milliseconds while the laser pans across your eyeball too fast to cause dangerous temperature rise. If the laser beam slows down - if the encoders/resolvers on the galvanometers register insufficient change in the mirror angles - the controller will shut off the laser. I don't have sufficient trust in my own professional, methodical, high-quality work using top dollar equipment to open up a machine without safety eyewear and lock out/tag out procedures; I have even less trust in products for the lower-margin, faster-paced entertainment industry. On top of that, it would not surprise me if a camera sensor has slightly less heatsinking compared to human eyeballs...but the fact that the safety margin is so thin that cameras can be damaged makes me not want to go to a light show!
- 5y ago

polack 5y ago

Many countries have signed the UN protocol that says they will not use laser weapons on people. The whole thing is a bit of a scam though and the crew on tanks and similar vehicles are taught to use lasers offensively on people even though the lasers are being classified for "range finding" or similar. So in practice offensive lasers are part of modern warfare.